Psychology 1 Chapter 1

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Psychology

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the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Basic Goals: (1) describe, (2) explain, (3) predict, (4) control and modify

(Psyche: soul, spirit, breath + -log: study of)

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Aristotle

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began combining with empirical observations

~wrote on perception, memory, motivation

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Rene Descartes

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proposed a doctrine called interactive dualism: the idea that mind and body were separate entities that interact to produce sensations, emotions, and other conscious experiences.

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Nature-Nurture Issue

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philosophers debated which was more important: the inborn nature of the individual or the environmental influences that nurture the individual.

Today: phsycologists acknowledge both nature and nurture

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Physiology

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a branch of biology that studies the functions and parts of living organisms, including humans.

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Wilhelm Wundt

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Founder of psychology

used scientific method to test predictions.

Ex: mental reaction times in response to visual or auditory stimuli.

~1874 published Principles of Physiological psychology

~1879 psychological lab. in Leipzig Germany

~1881 founded first scientific journal in Psyc.

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Edward B. Titchener

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Wundt's student

Developed his own approach called Structuralism, which became the first major school of thought in psychology

~~complex processes could be broken down into separate structures or elements of the senses

Ex: describing an apple via introspection

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stimulus

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anything perceptible to the senses, such as a sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste

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William James

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Father of American Psychology

influenced by Wundt's writings and Darwin's "Origin of Species"

School of Functionalism: stressed the importance of how behavior functions to allow people and animals to adapt to their environments. Focused on the study of consciousness. James saw consciousness as an ongoing stream of mental activity that shifts and changes.

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G. Stanley Hall

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Jame's Student

1st Ph.D in Psychology in America

~first lab. in U.S. in 1883

~first U.S. Psyc. journal

~Founded the American Psychological Association in 1892

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Mary Whiton Calkins

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James's Student

Completed Ph.D requirements at Harvard, yet not awarded degree!

~first lab. at Wellsely College in 1891

~first women president of APA in 1905

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Sigmund Freud

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School of thought: Psychoanalysis

unconscious thoughts or conflicts (hidden or inaccessible form conscious thoughts) influence behaviors and personality*sexual or aggressive conflicts*

glimpses of unconscious found in dreams, memory blocks, and slips of the tongue

unconscious conflicts become extreme then psychological disorders result (work was largely driven by self-analysis. Early experiences matter and can have lasting developmental consequences

developed Psychotherapy

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John B Watson

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School of Behaviorism

psychology should be focused on overt behaviors: observable behaviors that could be objectively measured or verified.

discussed how behavior is acquired and modified in response to the environment contextual demand (i.e, learning)

~~rejected structuralism and functionalism (consciousness) and psychoanalysis (unconsciousness)

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B.F Skinner

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Like Watson, Skinner argued that Psyc. should only study that which is observable

Main contributions are found in learning (rewards and punishments)

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Carl Rogers

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School of Humanistic Psychology

Like Freud: influenced by work w/patients

Unlike Freud: focused on the conscious aspects of thought

Unique contributions of free will, self-determintation, and importance of choice in human behavior (countered Behaviorism) psychological growth

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Abraham Maslow

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Also Humanistic Psychology

Major contributions addressed psychological growth, like Carl Rogers, as well as theories of motivation

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Contemporary Psychology

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approaches the scientific study of mental processes and behaviors form a variety of perspectives

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Biological Perspective

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emphasizes studying the physical bases of human and animal behavior, including the nervous system, immune system, and genetics

~Neuroscience refers to the study of the nervous system, especially the brain.

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Psychodynamic Perspective

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key ideas of Freud

today: emphasize the importance of conscious influences, early life experiences, and interpersonal relationships in explaining the underlying dynamics of behavior or in treating people with psychological problems

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Behavioral Perspective

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Watson and Skinner ideas

study how behavior is acquired or modified by environmental causes

~treating psychological disorders

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Humanistic Perspective

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focuses on the motivation of people to grow psychologically, the influence of interpersonal relationships on a person's self-concept, and the importance of choice and self-direction in striving to reach one's potential

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Positive Psychological Perspective

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the study of positive emotions and psychological states, positive individual traits, and the social institutions that foster positive individuals and communities

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Cognitive Perspective

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this movement represented a break from traditional behaviorism.

focused on the important role of metal processes in how people process and remember information, develop lang., solve problems, an think.

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Cross-Culture Psychology

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branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on behavior and mental processes

Ex: Trains in Japan. Police shove people in to fit as many as possible; whereas, in the US we would find that odd and rude.

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Evolutionary Psychology

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the application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena

~relfects the principle of natural selection

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Culture

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the attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to another

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ethnocentrism

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the belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to all others and the related tendency to use one's own culture as a standard by which to judge other culture

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Individualistic Cultures

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cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the individual over the needs and goals of the group

in individualistic cultures societies, social behavior is more strongly influenced by individual preferences and attitudes than by cultural norms and values.

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Collectivistic Cultures

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cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the group over the needs and goals of the individual

self is seen as being much more interdependent with others. relationships with others and identification with a larger group, such as the family or tribe, are key components of personal identity

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Scientific Method

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Definition: a set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide researchers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions

Steps:

1. Formulate a specific question that can be tested

2.Design a study to collect relevant data

3. Analyze the data to arrive at conclusions

4.Report the results

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empirical evidence

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verifiable evidence that is based upon objective observation, measurement, and/or experimentation

--scientific method is used

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variable

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a factor that can vary, or change, in ways that can be observed, measured, and verified

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operational definition

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a precise description of how the variables in a study will be manipulated or measured

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statistics

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a branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data

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statistically significant

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a mathematical indication that research results are not very likely to have occurred by chance.

statistically significant results confirm the hypothesis

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practical significance

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Practical significance is about whether we should care/whether the effect is useful in an applied context. An effect could be statistically significant, but that doesn't in itself mean that it's a good idea to spend money/time/resources into pursuing it in the real world. The truth is that in most situations (at least in psychology), the null hypothesis is never true

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meta-analysis

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a statistical technique that involves combining and analyzing the results of many research studies on a specific topic in order to identify overall trends

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replicate

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to repeat or duplicate a scientific study in order to increase confidence in the validity of the original findings

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theory

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a tentative explanation that tires to integrate and account for the relationships of various findings and observations

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descriptive research methods

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scientific procedures that involve systematically observing behavior in order to describe the relationship among behaviors and events

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naturalistic observation

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the systematic observation and recording of behaviors as they occur in their natural setting

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pseudoscience

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fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence

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case study

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an intensive study o a single individual or small of individuals

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surbey

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a questionnaire or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group

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sample

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a selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied

~selecting a sample that is representative of the larger group is the key to getting accurate survey results

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representative sample

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a selected segment that very closely parallels larger population being studied on relevant characteristics, such as age, sex, race, marital status, and educational level

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random selection

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process in which subjects are selected randomly form a larger group such that every group member has an equal chance of being included in the studyc

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correlation study

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a research strategy that allows the precise calculation of how strongly related two factors are to each other

Correlation does not equal cause

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correlation coefficient

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a numerical indication of the magnitude an direction of the relationship (the correlation) between two variables

Range: -1.00 to +1.00

~the number indicates the strength of the relationship, and the sign indicates the direction of the relationship between the two variables

|-1.00 -0.5 | +.05 +1.00 |

|___________________|____________________|

|strong<--------weak|weak--------->strong|

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positive correlation

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a finding that two factors vary systematically in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together

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negative correlation

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a finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases

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experimental method

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a method of investigation used to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor

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independent variable (treatment variable)

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the purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change in an experiment

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dependent variable (outcome variable)

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the factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment; thought to be influenced by the independent variable

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extraneous variable (confounding variable)

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a factor or variable other than the ones being studied that, if not controlled, could affect the outcome of an experiment

~unwanted variability in such factors as the participant's ages, gender, ethnic background, race, health, occupation, personal habits, education, and so on

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experimental group (experimental condition)

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in an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, including the independent variables

participants receive the independent variable-the actual medication, therapy, or procedure

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placebo

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a fake substance, treatment, or procedure that has no known direct effects

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placebo effect (expectancy effect)

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any change attributed to a person's beliefs and expectations rather than an actual drug, treatment, or procedure

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random assignment

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the process of assigning participants to experimental conditions so that all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions or groups in the study

~potential differences among the participants are spread out evenly

~helps minimize the possibility of bias

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double-blind technique

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an experimental control in which neither the participants nor the researchers interacting with the participants are aware of the group or condition to which the particpants have been assigned

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demand characteristics

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in a research study, subtle cues or signals expressed by the researcher that communicate the kind of response or behavior that is expected from the participant

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practice effect

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any change in performance that results from mere repetition of a task

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control group (control condition)

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in an experiment, the group of participants who are expose to all experimental conditions, except the independent variable; the group against which changes in the experimental group are compared

~not given anything

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natural experiment

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a study investigating the effects of a naturally occurring event on the research participants

~psychologist can use natural experiments to study the effects of disasters, epidemics, or other events

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positron emission tomography (PET scan)

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an invasive imaging technique that provides color-coded images of brain activity by tracking the brain's use of a radioactively tagged compound, such as glucose, oxygen, or a drug

Ex: learning a language (unpracticed/practiced)

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magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

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a noninvasive technique that produces highly detailed images of the bodies's structures and tissues, using electromagnetic signals generated by the body in response to magnetic fields

Ex: looking at the memory region in Taxi drivers (which is big) compared to non-taxi drivers (small)

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functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

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a noninvasive imaging technique that uses magnetic fields to map brain activity by measuring changes n the brain's blood flow and oxygen level

Ex: comparing emotional responses

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comparative psychology

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branch of psychology that studies the behavior of different animal species

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animal cognition

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the study of animal learning, memory, thinking, and language